SLIPKNOT’s JAY WEINBERG named 2022 ‘Metal Drummer Of The Year’

SLIPKNOT's JAY WEINBERG named 2022 'Metal Drummer Of The Year' by readers of MODERN DRUMMER magazine

02-09-2022

Modern Drummer magazine’s readers have voted SLIPKNOT‘s Jay Weinberg as the No. 1 metal drummer in the publication’s 2022 Readers’ Poll.

Jay released the following statement via social media:

“It is truly an honor to be named Metal Drummer of the Year in the 2022 @modern_drummer Reader’s Poll. I distinctly remember being a teenager, buying my first copy of Modern Drummer Magazine at my local drum shop. It’s surreal and humbling to receive this recognition.

“Thank you so much to Modern Drummer, the entire MD community, and everyone who voted. Your support means the world to me.

“Tomas, Brann, Eloy, and Matt: you guys know how much your music means to me. Thank you all for the endless inspiration you’ve given the worldwide drumming community, and for everything you do to push the instrument forward.

“Thank you to my wife @chloweinberg, our dog @hiya___papaya, my parents and siblings, and my bandmates in @slipknot for the love and encouragement. I owe you all a debt of gratitude I can never repay.

“To everyone who’s been in my corner all these years, thank you so much. I sincerely appreciate it.”

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Jay discovered SLIPKNOT when he was a pre-teen, through his father Max, of Bruce Springsteen‘s E STREET BAND, and leader of the house band on Conan O’Brien‘s talk show. He was hooked immediately and was a huge fan of SLIPKNOT by the time he was invited to Los Angeles to try out as replacement for Joey Jordison in 2013.

For the first few months after the release of 2014’s “.5: The Gray Chapter”, the members of SLIPKNOT had declined to name the musicians who were playing drums and bass on their tour, despite the fact that their identities were revealed as Weinberg and bassist Alessandro “Vman” Venturella by a disgruntled former drumtech for SLIPKNOT who posted a picture of a backstage call sheet on Instagram.

SLIPKNOT announced its split with Jordison in December 2013 but did not disclose the reasons for his exit. The drummer subsequently issued a statement saying that he did not quit the group.

Jordison passed away “peacefully in his sleep” in July 2021 of an unspecified cause. He was 46 years old.

Asked in a 2016 interview with Music Radar how respectful he felt he had to be to Joey‘s legacy, and how much he felt he was free to make it his own, Weinberg said: “Having a massive respect for the band’s music, having a massive respect for Joey Jordison as a person and as a player, I understood my role in needing to deliver what this band needs, and understanding what Joey brought to the table, and having this band’s legacy continue in the way that the Maggots, the fans of the band, respect, and the nine of us feeling proud of the music we’re creating.

“Of course, the history of the band feeds into what I think of the band, but when it came time to come up with new material, new songs, I didn’t think about Joey Jordison one bit,” he continued. “And I feel it would be disrespectful to do that, and the band wanted me to be completely myself. Because why would I want to be Joey Jordison, why would I try to mimic what he’s done?

“Joey‘s one of the greatest drummers we’ve ever had the privilege of witnessing. So as a fan of the band and someone who respects the people and the music, I didn’t want to come in and try to be a copycat. That’s not interesting to me, that’s not interesting to the band and it would be insulting to everyone involved, including the fans.”

Prior to joining SLIPKNOT, Weinberg was a member of AGAINST ME!, having played with the Florida-based act from November 2010 until December 2012.

Weinberg joined AGAINST ME! shortly after he was ousted from MADBALL and following the departure of AGAINST ME!‘s previous sticksman, George Rebelo.

In May 2013, Weinberg filled in for KVELERTAK drummer Kjetil Gjermundrod during the band’s North American tour because Gjermundrod had to bow out of the run after experiencing significant pain in his arm.

Slipknot recently released the official video for “Yen”. The song is taken off their new album ‘The End So Far’, scheduled for a September 30 release on Roadrunner Records.

“Yen” follows the forthcoming album’s lead single “The Dying Song (Time To Sing)” which arrived last month accompanied by an official music video directed by the band’s own M. Shawn “Clown” Crahan. The track garnered widespread acclaim upon its arrival with The Fader declaring “It absolutely rips,” and Rolling Stone praising it as a “punishing new elegy.”

A four-camera video of SLIPKNOT performing its previous single, “The Dying Song (Time To Sing)”, live for the first time on July 28 at O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic is now available (courtesy of YouTube channel Bahomar).

Watch “The Dying Song (Time To Sing)” live and it official video directed by SLIPKNOT percussionist M. Shawn “Clown” Crahan below.

Produced by SLIPKNOT and Joe Barresi, “The End, So Far” includes the band’s 2021 surprise single “The Chapeltown Rag” and follows their widely celebrated 2019 album “We Are Not Your Kind”, which marked SLIPKNOT‘s third consecutive No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The release made a massive global impact with No. 1 debuts in the official album charts of twelve countries around the world, including the U.K., Australia, Canada and Mexico, with Top 5 debuts in an additional twelve countries including Germany, France and Sweden.

Regarding the lyrical inspiration for “The Dying Song (Time To Sing)”, SLIPKNOT singer Corey Taylor told Kerrang! magazine: “To me, it just seems like it’s all the outrage and none of the punishment. For the last few years it’s been very trendy to be offended and outraged by everything, and yet nothing happens – especially in my country, which is just fucking ridiculous. It’s almost like the tables have turned, and the more angry people get, the more the people who they’re mad at just double-down on the shit. Instead of there being cause and effect, or crime and punishment, now it’s just like, ‘Fuck you, we don’t care.’ I can’t tell if that’s a reaction because of the almost nihilistic isolation of the cultures themselves, where neither side is acknowledging any of the good parts of each other – they’re just really honed in on the shit that they consider inflammatory. And it’s almost like people are ringing the doomsday bell. You’re sitting there going, ‘Well, it’s been fun! Everybody, pick up your trash when you’re leaving, and I’ll see you in Hell!’ That’s kind of what that song is. It’s just like, ‘If we don’t figure it out, I’ll see you when the meteor hits, basically.'”

As for SLIPKNOT‘s working relationship with Barresi, Taylor said: “He’s one of those dudes who’s got great ideas, but he also allows you to do what is on your mind. If he has an idea, he lets you pursue yours, but then he’ll go, ‘You know, just for me, try this and see if these things can live together.’ He’s very unassuming, which is kind of rare these days. Sometimes you can get a producer who’s trying to enforce their will on it, but Joe just wants what’s best for the album, and what’s best for the song, and what’s best for the performance.”

“The End, So Far” track listing:

01. Adderall
02. The Dying Song (Time To Sing)
03. The Chapeltown Rag
04. Yen
05. Hivemind
06. Warranty
07. Medicine For The Dead
08. Acidic
09. Heirloom
10. H377
11. De Sade
12. Finale

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